Diwali

Voters head to the polls Oct. 24 — the same day many Ottawa residents celebrate Diwali. Observers of the festival of lights have mixed reactions over the ...

One candidate it interviewed said holding voting day at the same time as Diwali was a “systemic barrier” to voting. Singh said setting the election date is a balance. Mythili Kalyanasundaram, president of the Hindu Society of Ottawa-Carleton, said she does not expect the election to impact her celebrations. There’s so many cultures and religions out there that you can take any day and any day is important to someone or some group,” he said. “I don’t think this would have happened in India, because I think they would have taken this into account, but Canada is so diverse. She said she encourages anyone concerned about missing celebrations to vote in advance polls (which took place on Oct. This is not the first time a Canadian election has fallen on a holiday. Bajpai said voting day may change some celebration plans such as cooking, gift-buying and decorating. Bajpai said that for many, Diwali is Christmas and New Year’s combined. He said the election will be a full-day affair for him, but he does not expect it to have a large impact on celebrations for others. [500,000 people](https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/fatah-celebrating-diwali-in-canada#:~:text=It's%20that%20time%20of%20the,important%20part%20of%20the%20celebration.) celebrate Diwali in Canada, mostly Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. And not all those who observe the festival of lights are happy about it.